Staying in Silence
by Masaichu
Summary: When you want to forgive someone, does simply never bringing the topic up again and staying silent count? Brotherly/Sisterly LeonxLola. Oneshot.


**I'm posting this from a different computer, so it may have format issues. Once Document Manager works right again, I'll replace this with the most correct version I have. Sorry if this has caused problems.**

--

With the most swift movement one can imagine, and the best of accuracy, Leon found himself as the unfortunate target of being slammed in the head with his sister's indestructible frying pan.

"You idiot! Because of you trying to steal the show again, we lost another concert! Can't you do anything right for a change!?"

Continuing to nag on him, Leon escaped from his position on the floor and crawled under the table for protection. If there was anything in the world he was afraid of, it was Lola in a bad mood.

"Get back out here!" She yelled, hitting the table with the frying pan. Miraculously, it didn't leave a dent in the metal.

"N-Not a chance!" He countered, wincing at the sound of metal on wood before cowering a bit.

"Grr...Fine! Just don't talk to me then! I'm tired of you always trying steal the show like you're some big star! But you're not!"

With that said, Lola promptly stomped out of the room, frying pan in hand. Crawling out from under the table, Leon watched her go with slight relief. Very slight.

Sure, she'd yelled at him before over stuff, but...Why did it suddenly hurt this time?

--

"Stupid Leon, always trying to steal the stupid show..." Muttered Lola, walking into her bedroom with a mad expression still on her face. At least here she could get some peace and quiet away from the others.

Falling backwards onto the bed, she dropped the pan to the floor with a loud clang and put her hands behind her head.

If she could, she would have gone and vented to one of her friends, but they probably wouldn't have helped much.

Miriam was good at listening to what was wrong, but she was so quiet that she never seemed to offer any good advice. So she couldn't go vent to her.

Prima sometimes offered advice that could be used, but she was too busy practicing her magic. Prima was out too.

Of course, there was always Ann and Sonika. But she really hadn't gotten to know those two very well, actually. They were more distant and got more attention, off at concerts and such.

Leon was out of the question entirely, of course. Why vent to him _about_ him?

Which left Al, who was probably the only sane one in the group, but still, she just didn't feel like getting up to go talk to him. And since he was friends with her brother, anything she told him could wind up being routed back to Leon at some point and that wouldn't go over well at all.

So here she was, laying all alone in her bedroom and muttering all the things she didn't like about her brother.

He was forgetful, more forgetful than you could believe. At one point he'd forgotten her _name_, which made her more angry than one could imagine. But then, of course, he could have been drunk for all she knew.

Going out to parties sometimes, that was a habit of his. Why did he go to parties where no one would know him anyway?

Of course, they knew him better than her. He was always stealing her stage time and trying to force duets on her.

He was an idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot! How was he even her brother? They weren't alike in the least.

"Hmph...Some brother he is..."

--

Despite his room being right across from her own, Leon couldn't bring himself to go and knock on her door.

What would he even say to her if he tried? Sorry obviously wouldn't cut it this time...

Heaving a long sigh, the blond sat down on the side of his bed, eyes trained out the window. How long had it been since he and Lola had gone out and done something together?

Had they _ever_ done it? Honestly, Leon couldn't even remember a time when they'd done something fun together, like eat pizza or go shopping -for fun stuff, of course, never clothes- or just anything that siblings did to bond.

Did they have a bond?

They were siblings, living in the same house together -living separate from the others was somewhat more convenient- and at least trying to live together without killing each other.

But was that a real bond?

Leon rolled onto his side and lay on the pillow. Maybe he really _had_ been stupid, trying to steal the show...But he couldn't help it, he wanted fans!

He wanted to sing like all the other Vocaloids that were famous and had legions of fans. He wanted people to love him and his singing no matter how rough it sounded.

They were first, after all. He and Lola were the very first Vocaloids, therefore, they should have gotten the _most_ fans, right?

Instead, everyone piled their love on Miku and Kaito and the twins.

Like they had never existed. Leon and Lola never existed.

Closing his eyes, he pondered this a moment. Leon and Lola...It was never Lola and Leon, instead it was almost always his name before hers.

Maybe Lola had been right about him stealing it all...

--

She doesn't quite remember when they took the picture, but she doesn't feel like they've changed much from the time they did.

The little frame settled perfectly in her hands, edges of the picture cut to fit inside. There was Leon, with his blond hair down and a big grin on his face, fingers spilt into a peace sign.

Lola, herself, stood in front of him with a small, half-hearted smile. She hadn't even been trying. Why was that, she wondered?

Tracing her finger along Leon's outline, she found herself feeling guilty for what she'd said earlier. Sure, Leon could be dimwitted a good amount of the time, but there were times when he actually showed some wise knowledge in him.

And really, it wasn't his fault that the fans preferred the others over them.

Because she just had to face it, they weren't the best. They weren't even the second best, or the third. But they were good enough to try, which was enough reason for her.

Suddenly, the guilt spread over her like wildfire.

--

Several times he had to ask himself, why did he try stealing their concerts in the first place?

Was it because he wanted millions of fans chanting his name? Or the fame and money that went along with being a musical superstar? Or was it...

Was it because he felt deprived of attention?

Leon sat up and thought about that for a minute. Deprived? What was he deprived of?

...Well...It had admittedly been forever -had it ever happened?- since Lola had actually gone and said "I love you" to him like any sister would to her brother.

Had he ever told her he loved her too?

A shiver ran through his body and he forced himself to stifle it. But he couldn't stop it, couldn't stop feeling like there was an empty part of him that needed, yearned so much for attention.

On a table next to the bed sat a vase full of tulips. Pulling one out, Leon lay back down and tried to calm himself, tracing his fingers along the frail pedals.

They felt soft and waxy, and the scent that wafted from the flower relaxed him.

With a long, drawn out sampling of it's sweet scent, he closed his eyes and let his arm fall limp on the bed, the tulip stem held loose in his fingers.

What would he do now? He could call up someone, he supposed. Maybe he could talk to Al, guy talk always cheered him up. Or he could try Miriam. But no, it didn't feel right.

Twirling the tulip in his fingers with one hand and rubbing the bump on his head from Lola's assault earlier, Leon opened his eyes and glanced at the vase full of flowers.

An idea hit him.

--

Pacing around in a small room can get to someone fast, but it wasn't getting to Lola fast _enough_. She continually moved in circles for minutes at a time until she grew too dizzy and lay back on the bed again.

Why couldn't she just go out there and apologize?

Simply, she was afraid he wouldn't accept it.

Which was crazy if she thought about it, because Leon usually forgave her in silence after awhile. She hoped, anyway.

Now she just felt worse! Oh, that brother of hers-

Someone knocked at her that moment, startling Lola enough to make her jump. She heard shuffling aside, and then the close of a door. His door.

When she opened the door, no one was there. She figured he'd chickened out too, until she glanced to the floor.

A small note folded in fourths lay by the doorway, and a tulip gently placed over it.

Hesitantly, Lola picked up the tulip and the note before going back in her room. The tulip was fresh, and smelled sweet and wonderful. No doubt it was from her brother, considering he always smelled like tulips, he loved them a little too much...

Unfolding the note, she paused to sit on the bed before reading it.

_Lola,_

_I'm sorry. For everything._

_- Leon_

_P.S.: I love you, sis._

She re-read it again, twice, before she realized the sting coming into her eyes. How was it that so few words meant so much?

However it happened, Lola understood. She finally understood it all.

--

He heard the knock on the door less than ten minutes after he'd placed the note in front of her door.

Sitting up from his bed, Leon felt his heartbeat racing faster.

The minute he swung the door open, two arms snatched him up in a hug tight enough to almost choke him. He stood blinking a moment. Then, he wrapped his arms around her as well, brushing her long, black hair back.

"You idiot, you know I love you too." Lola's voice cracked, holding back the few tears that still wanted to escape.

Leon smiled and closed his eyes, holding her close so as to hide his own. He couldn't cry, he should be happy.

"I'm glad...And I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry too..."

Neither of them let go during the several minutes of silence afterwards, until Lola finally spoke up on the main subject at hand.

"...We never do anything anymore..."

"...Want to go talk over some pizza right now?"

Leon grinned at her. And Lola gave him the biggest grin she could muster back.


End file.
